The only New Wave female band in Los Angeles fronted by a Mexican-American, (Laura Molina) in 1983.
Tiger Lily was active from 1982-84. We were 5 young women who went for it. Or rather, I went for it and convinced 4 other girls to take that joyride with me. We were rank amateurs, but at least it wasn't put together by a man! At first, I would go audition for punk bands around L.A. and just freeze up and not be able to play! Tiger Lily became an all girl band when I thought I would be more comfortable around my friends so in 1981, I convinced one of my childhood friends to take up the bass guitar. Meanwhile a "Musicians Wanted" ad in L.A.'s famous "Recycler", was answered by drummer Becky Atkins and the female band with no name played trio in the garage while I searched for another female guitar player. We started as a rockabilly trio, and went through a succession of names including "The Tomboys" and "The Cat Women". Late one night I was watching a old movie in which Lucille Ball played a burlesque dancer whose stage name was "Tiger Lily". I liked it because the name is something strong next to something beautiful and people might guess the band was female. Our ad stayed in the Recycler and a parade of talentless freaks and very insecure girls auditioned. Out of frustration I started phoning every guitar teacher in the San Gabriel Valley and asking if they "had any female students learning the electric guitar". I finally discovered Jill Sharpe working in a Covina music store. She joined up and we had a real band at last, a second guitar player/singer allowing us to move into a more pop sound. We started writing songs, playing live and recorded a demo tape. We debuted at the Cafe Theater at The Inner-City Cultural Center in Summer, 1982 with keyboard player Nancy Morris who promptly left the band and headed back to Arizona. She was the only player we had who was not a native of Southern California. We did not meet Desha Dunnahoe until late 1983, making it once again, an all instrumentalist quintet. No one in the band had really played in a rock band before. Jill had been in a punk band that never had left the garage and Desha had briefly played in a top 40 band. I'd been playing the guitar since I was 12 but until the D.I.Y. Punk movement of the late '70's it never occurred to me that I could play the electric guitar. I simply had no example to go by other than Suzi Quatro and in the 1970's she was considered a novelty and something of a freak. A local band called "The Heaters", had a big influence on me personally. They had 3 female players, Mercy Bermudez and Melissa and Maggie Connell and they played Pop.
PS. Tiger Lily never opened for The Ventures, that was some other girl band.
We were included on this 1984 Rhino Records compliation album of female artists. It was supposed to be an entire album of all girl bands, but Rhino ending up using female solo artists and female fronted bands as well because the compilation's producer couldn't find that many all girl bands. There are 13 songs on this album but only 4 of them were played by all girl bands. Tiger Lily, The Pandoras, On the Air, and The Antoinettes. Other female musicians on other tracks include Carla Olson, members of The Bangles, Kristi Callan and Heidi Rodewald together in Wednesday Week.
The Girls Can't Help It
Rhino Records
Format: Vinyl LP (RNLP024)
Released: October 1984
Produced and engineered by Vitus Mataré at Lyceum Sound, Mar Vista, CA.
Leslee Swanson - Each Time
Laura Zambo - Patience
Sophisticated Boom Boom - The Only One The Pandoras - You Lie Wednesday Week - You Wanted Me To Hang Around You
The Dynette Set - Seed of Love
On The Air - Even Try
Chris Somme - Can't Stop The World
Tiger Lily - Die Laughing
Ru Carley - Boys In L.A.
Antoinettes - Never Let Go
Jane Bond and the Undercover Men - Run To Him
The Signals - Little Boy
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The only New Wave female band in Los Angeles fronted by a Mexican-American, (Laura Molina) in 1983.
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